It was noted during the first episode of Wrestlevotes Radio that WWE SmackDown will become a 3-hour show beginning in January. That means that there will be 6 hours of first-run WWE programming on a weekly basis since Raw will be 3 hours on Netflix.
Joey Votes noted on Wrestlevotes Radio (via Sportskeeda’s Backstage Pass Patreon) that the 3 hours of SmackDown is temporary and the plan is for the show to go back to 2 hours in 6 months, sometime in June.
Joey said, “Something else we wanted to touch on quickly when we mentioned that SmackDown will be moving to three hours. As of right now, the chatter internally is that is only for 6 months. [3 hours] is gonna start in January when Raw moves to 3 hours. The plan right now is that 6 months down the road, SmackDown then goes back to 2 hours.”
Things can always change and if USA is happy with the Friday night numbers, there’s always a chance that they will offer WWE more money to keep the three hours. With WrestleMania season kicking off in January, the three hours might just be a way to fit more into the shows, especially with big names like The Rock and John Cena returning.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Sportskeeda Backstage Pass with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
